Talk:Marine Armor
Note: This page is a temporary affair while we work out some thoughts on what we're doing about the battle armor issue. It will eventually be cleaned into a proper entry, but we need to make some decisions on what things look like among those involved, first. Wrista 04:09, 5 August 2006 (UTC) Of the three images, the last one (the assault on the Imperial armed freighter) seems to be the most applicable for the NR Marines. The first one is too Clone, or Clone Commando in nature. The second one looks quite a-typical of anything SW'ish. Almost looks like something out of Space:Above & Beyond. But that last one is sufficiently original and sufficiently Republican to really give the Marines a dynamic look. -- Hawke / Rtufo 06:06, 5 August 2006 (UTC) :There's some concern in certain corners about similarities in the third option to certain varieties of Imperial armor. While I think it's debatable that they're all that similar, I've been working on some sketches to turn the Star Wars Galaxies Rebel Assault Armor(the second option) into something a little more Republican in design, since the feeling in general is that the Specforce armor might be better served as a special-use kit. We'll see how that pans out, and if it doesn't, option three will probably end up adopted. The first option has already been, for the most part, cast aside as impractical, though it may serve as a reasonable base for some "heavy assault" armor with enough modification work. -- Wrista 16:12, 5 August 2006 (UTC) Whenever I think of NR Marines, I just think of this: But that's just me ;p --Danik Kreldin 19:16, 5 August 2006 (UTC) There's also this, from another canon source (the third one is also from canon, not sure what source): NR Sea Commandos --Danik Kreldin 19:20, 5 August 2006 (UTC) The "Raising of the Flag on Coruscant" picture doesn't necessarily depict Marines, persay. Granted, the posture is modelled after the US Marines' raising of the flag over Iwo Jima, but given the circumstances, those are Alliance soldiers from the pool that they've called "Rebel SpecForces". If you look at the uniforms, you see the Endor Commando-style outfits, with that signature helmet. It would almost be safe to say that particular uniform was the "standard issue" for most soldiers. Also, curiously, in the foreground, is the uniform from Hoth! It's been tinted green, but it is the same style. I think this is an instance of "uninspired creativity" on the part of the artist... either restricted from creating something new, and thus borrowing from established styles, or, in the effort of making it recognizeable, utilizing existing styles. Either way, chances are great that if a Marine Corps was to be established in the New Republic, it would possess armor, even on a basic level, and would be optimized for ship-to-ship fighting. Typically, the Marines would be expected to encounter, at worst, their counterpart — the Stormtrooper. -- Hawke / Rtufo 05:01, 6 August 2006 (UTC) The 'flag raising' pic is definitely representative of Rebel/NR ground forces, but it seems unlikely to be representative of Marines in all operations. Rtufo's third pic SPECIFICALLY depicts Marines in a boarding operation, which is the kind of thing that runs a strong risk of letting the air out of various sections of the ship. This makes the manner of armor depicted to seem far more likely than any kind of 'open-faced' get-up. And indeed, NR Marines by their nature would often have to operate in vacuum, necessitating a fully-enclosed armor. And since the depths of space are a touch on the black side, it stands to reason that military armor for use in such an environment might so coloured. ---Mahon The only problem I have with the black armor in the comic image is that it looks too 'Imperial'. It looks like Storm Commando armor mixed with a clone trooper style helmet. While that is fine and dandy, I would like to see the factions be more unique in gear and equipment. The SW:G Assault Armor is pretty cool looking and I think with a few modifications it would fit nicely with what the marines are going for. It could even be black or more likely grey but it won't be mistaken for Imperial armor. That's just my opinion as a player. -- Prospero :Honestly, Propspero, i can totally appreciate the advice and stance, but the only things that the SpecForce armor really has in common with storm commando armor is that both are black, and both are armor. the SC design is basically a repainted Scout trooper suit, which the SF armor departs from in a number of ways. That said, we have already opted to go a much different route, so at most the specforce gear *might* be used for a few specific-need missions, but won't be the main class of armor in use, and the whole discussion of SpecForce vs. Storm Commando similarities becomes somewhat moot in the end. -- Wrista 17:35, 7 August 2006 (UTC) Throwing my two credits into the fray, as a NR-ophile. I made a composite "sketch" for some light armor. I kept the dark blue from the other examples. It upgrades the Ep IV "rebel trooper" helmet to include a translucent facemask (to link with the rebels from the film and to move away from the cold impersonal feel of the Imperial/Clone Trooper helmets), and it borrows from Mandalorian armor to be more recognizably Star Wars. This is a thumbnail. I can post a bigger one if people are interested. -- Lolkje Not a bad attempt, and I can appreciate the effort, but there are some issues that arise from that image. Firstly, the armor is too humanocentric — it needs to be less form-fitting, and more generic (bulkier, especially in the torso) to accomodate different alien body types. The whole allure of the New Republic, or Rebel Alliance for that matter, was that several dozen different humanoid aliens contributed substantially to the cause. Mon Calamari, Wookiees, Gotals, Elomin, Zabraki, Bothans, Twi'leks, Devaronians, Sullustans... the list goes on. Then, when Humans are mixed in, this force was to counter the purist / elitist nature of the Empire, and their humanocentric ways. It stands to reason that a Marine Corp would encompass the diversity of the New Republic, and the armor would try to hit on the "lowest common denominator". Granted, Wookiees, Horansi, and Talz kinda throw a real wrench into it, but for the most part, all the other races could be covered by a more general set of armor. Secondly, the helmet just seems out of place. Because of the disjointed timeline (both RL and canon) in which the movies were made, that helmet is out of "logical progression". The seen-at-Endor "khaki-cap-with-hard-donut" helmet would be the latest used by soldiers, and while I'll agree it wouldn't suit a Marine unit, it would be the "most basic form". A helmet would need to be full-face and/or encloseable, to allow the Marine to operate in hazardous and/or vaccuum environments. In that, the second example from the other page does satisfy that issue, but it looks a tad harsh. Maybe with some spruce-up... and perhaps making the faceplate clear and not so face-specific, ala Clone Troopers and Stormtroopers. Otherwise, the colors should/could be bluish/greyish. You wouldn't want it to be white, because that's more or less the "official" color of the Empire. -- Hawke / Rtufo 17:11, 7 August 2006 (UTC) :All appreciated comments, folks. A few things: We've just about settled on a basic design after I sketched something together... it's not currently fit for public consumption yet, but our NRMC players, so far, are generally pleased with the direction it's going in, and I'll be cleaning it up as time allows. We'll be adopting a dark blue color for the overall color, with trim pieces set in the other NR crest colors, and a less-harsh, more organic-looking design aesthetic. These are, as it has been mentioned, not Stormtroopers, and there's a certain need to stride a line between effective armor and not looking harsh and frightening. Hawke, While I totally agree on the NR's stance regarding the diversity of the NRMC and the NR in general, my research into practical armor design considerations has left me inclined towards a variety in suits to fit species differences, with an overall unified design, but special modification for species variations. IE: we'll have a basically human-centric base design, with, for instance, a set of standard modified helmets to accomadate twi'leks, modified gauntlets and helmet for Man Cal troops, etcetera. Considering we've already got a fair amount of precedent for species-specific modifications to uniforms, armor seems likely to follow suit, especially as there is a fait bit of need for form-fitting design. The end result, to a degree, borrows good points from all three of the posted potentials we started with. -- Wrista 17:35, 7 August 2006 (UTC)